Prescott County dairy farmers are so ticked off with their marketing boards that about 75 of them fired off a letter of complaint.
An Aug. 17 letter to the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) and the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) slammed the new Pro Action plan that the provincial marketing board introduced. Pro Action calls for a detailed inspection of each dairy farm. Each inspection would involve one of four areas: Animal care, traceability, biosecurity and the environment.
While farmers say they “can live with” inspections for animal care and traceability, they draw the line at biosecurity and environment, saying the DFO goes “too far” because it duplicates what is already being done. The letter argued that a DFO field representative “should be able to come to the farm with a simple question: ‘Do you have a valid environmental farm plan or a nutrient management plan.’ If yes, skip to the next step. Done.”
The letter notes that when a certified agrologist tells the farmer he is doing things right, “it is not the DFO’s or DFC’s place to interfere.”
The letter also stated that “Pro Action will be a huge increase of time for farmers and unneeded expenses.”
